What is it? Zoo-based management sim with added fish, birds, and nature reserves.

Reviewed on: AMD Ryzen 5 3600, Nvidia 2080 Super, 32 GB RAM, Windows 10

Planet Zoo 2's animals are truly majestic creations. Even at a time when games are gnawing at the chain-link fence of photorealism, watching Frontier's meticulously modelled critters clamber and prowl, swim and fly, or play with whatever enrichment toys you've dunked into their enclosures, is always a treat. Like watching animals in a real zoo, there's a soothing, almost therapeutic quality to it. Which is just as well, as there were times playing Planet Zoo 2 that I felt like I needed an emotional support animal.

Frontier Developments' management sims have never been the sleekest examples of the genre, but Planet Zoo 2 couldn't be fiddlier if it involved teaching an octopus to play the violin. Doing anything in this game requires navigating a tangled spider's web of menus, and while there are rewards to be had, I found the experience altogether more exhausting than enjoyable.

Planet Zoo 2 adds three major new features to Frontier's game of zoological construction, namely fish, birds, and nature reserves. While the aquatic and avian animals are welcome additions to Planet Zoo's menagerie, it's the latter feature that has the biggest impact on play. Rather than serving as simple attractions for your guests, zoos now contribute to conservation efforts around the globe, with you able to release reared and rehabilitated animals into vast swathes of untamed wilderness.

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